AJ Lake wrote:

Believe me, I've tried most of them, [Rice Boxes]

You've tried *most* of hundreds of models and brands? That seems to be
another unsupportable exaggeration.

Not at all - I used to examine equipment for a well-respected ham magazine.
Most of the Asian gear is junk.

We also have a lot of QRP operators (mostly
under 1 Watt) that simply won't be heard by those equipped with the Asian
black boxes!

Now you're being funny. Cause you can't be serious, can you...

Funnily enough, I worked a Canadian last night on 14 MHz, with each of us
using less than 5 Watts. His signal was entirely inaudible on the
extremely expensive Rice Box I've just repaired for a friend, but was
clearly audible despite fierce adjacent Italian QRM on my hybrid RX (and on
the Plessey).

C.